US Rep. Keating demands answers from ICE after roundups on Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket

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U.S. Rep. Bill Keating is demanding answers from federal officials about the specifics of last month's roundup of immigrants on Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and Plymouth by agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Officers with ICE and other federal agencies detained about 40 individuals and arrested 12 on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket on May 27. On May 30, ICE agents conducted a sweep in Plymouth. All three areas are in Keating's Ninth Congressional District.
Keating is uphappy over the information blackout by federal agencies over those caught up in the ICE detentions.
'The lack of transparency — the failure to notify local law enforcement, the failure to release any concrete information about the detentions, the decision to use unmarked vehicles, plain clothed officers and masks — is making our communities less safe,' Keating wrote in a June 2 letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, acting director of ICE Todd Lyons and FBI Director Kash Patel.
No information has been given on the specific number or identities of those detained or arrested. Keating wants a full list of detainees and any criminal charges against them. According to reports from two police departments and the Town of Plymouth, ICE did not provide prior notice that its agents would be in those areas for enforcement action, Keating wrote.
In his letter, Keating said his constituents are concerned that the ICE enforcement actions were not targeted, but focused on pulling over commercial vehicles. The actions have left communities scared and fearful for their safety, regardless of immigration status, he wrote.
In his letter, Keating seeks answers by June 6 to nearly 20 questions, among them:
What methods ICE and federal agents used to determine which vehicles to pull over?
What steps agents used to determine the legal status of occupants in vehicle stopped?
What protocols are in place to prevent wrongful detentions?
How many vehicles were stopped?
Were any individuals detained in these actions the target of a warrant or detainer order?
Federal officials defended the detainments, saying the "enforcement action" is about public safety.
At a June 2 press conference in Boston, acting ICE Director Lyons said 1,500 criminal and illegal aliens have been arrested in Massachusetts since May 1 during what he called Operation Patriot.
Leah B. Foley, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said those arrested violated immigration laws and some went on to commit crimes.
Patricia H. Hyde, field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston, said 1,461 criminal alien offenders were arrested in May in Massachusetts. Of those, 790 had 'significant criminality,' including allegations of rape, murder, drug trafficking, sexual, child and spousal abuse. No further details were given.
Hyde criticized the actions of some state and local agencies who did not notify ICE when undocumented immigrants were arrested or brought to state courts on charges. She cited an example of an immigrant who had been deported from the country four times, who racked up three OUI charges when in the country and was released without ICE being notified.
'When state and local jurisdictions don't cooperate with ICE and let bad actors back into the community, that is sanctuary,' she said.
The state was identified as a 'sanctuary jurisdiction' by the Trump administration in late May. It was included on a list of places published by the Department of Homeland Security that are allegedly 'deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws.' That list has subsequently been removed from the DHS website.
A Massachusetts Trial Court policy on interactions with ICE says court personnel shall not initiate communication with ICE officers or employees unless a defendant is brought into state court on a special writ of habeas corpus, called an ICE Habe.
'Court leaders in the Executive Office of the Trial Court developed the policy in accordance with the Supreme Judicial Court decision in Lunn v. Commonwealthand Massachusetts law,' wrote court spokesperson Erika Gully-Santiago in a June 3 email.
In that decision, the court concluded that court officers lack the authority '...to arrest an individual pursuant to a request contained in a Federal civil immigration detainer to hold that individual for up to two days after he or she would otherwise be entitled to release from State custody; further, this court declined to adopt, as a matter of Massachusetts law, the theory of inherent authority to carry out such detainer requests as a basis for authorizing civil immigration arrests...'
The Trial Court declined a request for an interview.
Denise Coffey writes about business, tourism and issues impacting the Cape's residents and visitors. Contact her at [e-mail] .
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard ICE arrests: Keating calls for answers